Molting

[kendrafitz]

Anyone have a grumpy molting bird at the moment?

Rosie molts all year, but this week she is just one big pin feather. Her neck and head are just covered. She is super uncomfortable and REALLY grumpy. Poor girl, I really feel sorry for her...that is when she is not making us all crazy. :th_shocking: She is screaming like a lunatic. Usually she screams when she can't see me, but this week it is just screaming. Even when we are right next to each other. Sigh...

For her sake (and ours) I hope that she gets some relief soon. Having needles poking you every time you move must be HORRIBLE!

[Mare]

Aww..poor Rosie and poor you guys! :(. I can imagine how uncomfortable she must be! Especially having such BIG needles!! Have you ever tried the product Avicalm? It's a nutritional supplement for anti-stress, anti-pick and anti-aggression. Sassy use to barber/pluck herself and was always an irritable mess. I used it on her for awhile and did notice a difference in her temperament. Might be worth a try :)

[plax]

Poor Rosie is right. That has to be uncomfortable. Salsa is actually molting quite heavily right now as well. In fact, I cracked off quite a few of his unreachable pins last evening. He's looking pretty scraggly and his tail is shorter than it has ever been - he lost his two longest tail feathers within a matter of weeks. His new ones are coming in, though. It's a good thing that molted feathers tend to grow back :D

[Mare]

Hey, Tony! Do you save those tail feathers? I have a friend that uses feathers in her hanging art and I've been saving my flock's feathers for her. Feathers are so beautiful, although, I've noticed that once the bird is done with them..they are sometimes, not so pretty :). I have feathers that I've stuck all over my home, framing pictures, adorning door frames..

[spiritbird]

Luck here because a bonded pair of birds take care of all pins. I have only seen one or two. It must really be uncomfortable for the big birds.

[Lady]

Poor uncomfortable guys :(. I haven't had any real noticeable molting issues with Lady thus far, and by the sound of what you described Kendra I hope I don't. All that screaming sounds so hard on everyone. Poor baby, I have only read that spraying them with warm water helps the sheath from drying out and becoming to hard as well as helping with itchiness. Be sure to keep her from drafts and in a warm area. Feeding them extra protein because the feathers are made of mostly Keratin and amino acids.
This is a link to one of the articles where I read the above information: [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks] Hope they both feel relief soon.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Casper hasn't moulted much but he has lots of pin feathers around his head and neck that I have been TOLD to help with. I'm not quite sure what he is going to do with all these extra feathers - perhaps he has looked at the yew tree and seen that it is covered in berries whereas it only had a few last year (folklore has it that this is a sign of a harsh winter coming). Margaret has received some painful nips but that might just be Casper asserting who is in charge around here. And we are both looking like we have a bad case of dandruff. I am typing this with Casper sitting on my wrist preening, it looks like I am being sprinkled with salt.

[spiritbird]

Birds need a bit of extra protein when molting to help the new feathers be strong and pretty.

[kendrafitz]

Mare - I haven't tried Avicalm yet. I am beginning to think it may be a good idea.

Tony - poor Salsa. Molting stinks. I always think Rosie looks so funny when her long tail feathers come out.

Dianne - it is so nice that they have each other. :) Poor Rosie just has me and I do a sub par job. Will make sure to try to get extra protein in my girl.

Alice - Rosie showers daily with me. Now that it is getting chilly she likes to sit in front of her hair dryer to dry off. Thank you for the link and good wishes!! :)

Jean Pierre - gotta love looking like you have dandruff from molting birds. I especially love when Rosie sits on my head and preens. Ick! Poor Casper, it always seems that Rosie's neck and head feathers are the worst! She can't turn her head without something poking her. Hope Caspers feathers finish coming in soon!

[plax]

Hey, Tony! Do you save those tail feathers? I have a friend that uses feathers in her hanging art and I've been saving my flock's feathers for her. Feathers are so beautiful, although, I've noticed that once the bird is done with them..they are sometimes, not so pretty :). I have feathers that I've stuck all over my home, framing pictures, adorning door frames..Yes, Mare. I save them and have donated them in the past. Maybe I can send you a bunch from my flock sometime.

[Robyn]

Riley has pretty much been molting for a year. He did stopped about 2 months ago but then started again. Sometimes he's grumpy other times not so much

[tropics1989]

They say extra vitamins at molting time helps the molt. I can vouch by it ;) they get an extra load of laefbers powdered vitamins every day of their molt so no cranky birds here it's a quick molt hehe